There are presently about ten million skateboarders in the United States. This is more than a 100% increase since 1995. Skateboarding is particularly popular among the age group from 13 to 21 among which a common interest in the activity is effective in congregating the participants in groups. The groups have any one of a number or reasons for gathering including popularity of particular locations where a feature such as a hill, a slant board, a tunnel, whose navigation on a skate board presents a challenge to the skate boarder. Contests have been organized in which participants perform a program of stunts in competition with fellow skate boarders and “extreme sports enthusiasts. Some contests are extensively advertised, presented on television and winners awarded substantial prizes.
These contests share a common characteristic with certain other extreme sports such as diving, figure (ice) skating, ballroom dancing, etc., in that physical features of the participant or decorative features of attire or equipment subconsciously influence the outcome in determining the winner.
Even among groups of skate boarders that have assembled solely for joint skateboard sessions, distinguishing features of equipment are desired from the standpoint that they attract interest and promote social intercourse among the participants.
Another consideration related to features of skateboard equipment is the association of the equipment with a specific manufacturer of the equipment. (Everyone is familiar with the value of labeling athletic shoes with the word “NIKE”) However, attaching a label to a skate board poses the problem of durability and convenience. If a label bearing indicia or logo is attached to the surface of the platform, then the label is exposed to eventual displacement by virtue of the athlete's foot abrading the surface of the board. Furthermore, the label does not “standout” to a spectator viewing the skateboarder from the side.
Yet another problem associated with skateboarding is the problem of identification. Skateboards generally all look alike, When skateboarders mix an mingle in a skate board outing with other skateboarders, he appreciates having a permanent indestructible feature that distinguishes his skate board from all of the other skateboards to minimize the chance that his skate board will become lost because it was mixed in with a large group of other skate boards.
Skate boards are generally constructed having a rectangular platform supported on four wheels arranged in quadrature positions. FIG. 1 A is a plan view and FIG. 1 B is a sectional edge view (prior art) showing the wheel 10 of a skateboard (not shown) that has been widely adapted by the industry.
Sectional view FIG. 1B shows the outer surface of the wheel 10 for skate boards having a cylindrical tread section 12 and a convex section 14 so that the tread 12 of the wheel 10 is narrower than the thickness of the wheel closer to the center of the wheel. The wheel has a bore 16. A shoulder 18 in the bore 16 supports a bearing and retaining nut (not shown) on the threaded end of the wheel axle (not shown).
The wheel for in-line rollerskates described in the cited art and shown in FIG. 2 has a square cross section as shown in cross section in FIG. 2, The shape is different from the skate board wheel discussed with reference to FIGS. 1A, B.
A number of disclosures have appeared directed toward wheel covers for in-line skates and roller skates.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,182 to Birnham discloses a flat cover that is retained in place on the flat surface of a skate wheel by an elastomeric sleeve that slips onto the steel shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,968 to Calpis discloses a flat cover having protuberance that engages the wheel retaining nut on the wheel axle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,180 discloses a cover for a wheel having a square cross section wherein the cover extends over the entire side surface of the wheel and I engaged to the wheelaxle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,392,634 discloses a cover adapted to fit into a recess on a side surface of a wheel having a square cross section. The wheel cover is mounted into the recess with a spanning wrench.
None of the covers disclosed in the cited art are designed for adaptation to the skate board wheel of FIGS. 1 A,B.
As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel 11 for in-line skates has a thickness, T, measured at the axle 13 that is the same as the thickness of the wheel measured at the periphery. Consequently, the outer surface of the wheel is flat. Since the cover 15 for the skate wheel of the cited art is simply a flat disk, there is nothing particularly outstanding about the appearance of the covers on these wheels that creates a lasting impression.